This invention relates to a rotary brush mechanism driven by a pressurized water supply, and more particularly, to a hand-manipulated disc-shaped vehicle brushing unit having improved flywheel means connectible to an ordinary garden-variety hose.
The pertinent art is replete with car washing manual brushing apparatus in addition to direct drive (automatic) motor-powered vehicle washing apparatus. The present invention makes advantageous application through the use of a flywheel gear of the pressurized water supply that is commonly available during the washing of a vehicle. The flywheel gear provides a required magnification of force between the applied water pressure and the spinning action of an outer rotary brush casing. It is thought that existing prior art brush devices do not make use of a flywheel gear to develop a magnified force with which to power movement of a scrubber, the flywheel gear being spun by application of a pressurized water supply. All hand-held brush devices for vehicle scrubbing applications as known to the applicant herein are thought to be either manual or to be driven by direct drive mechanisms.
The present invention is particularly useful in adapting the common source of pressurized water supply to power an improved strong rotary movement of an outer brush casing having pad and bristle means thereon for contacting the vehicle surface to be cleaned. It is desirable to avoid complex and expensive washing apparatus having high initial costs and extensive maintenance factors where the application is for home use as opposed to commercial or industrial uses. It is also desirable to harness an available power source of pressurized water through the economical and simple employment of a flywheel gear used in conjunction with gear assembly means to magnify the force of the striking water to give added inertia of movement to a rotatable outer brush casing.
The present invention is comprised of a disc-shaped rotary brush unit having a rotating outer brush casing or housing enclosure defining an interior cavity containing improved gear means including flywheel gear means communicating with a fluid outlet chamber or housing through which pressurized water flow is directed. The flywheel gear means is caused to rotate by means of the combined forces of water directly striking suitable blade means on the peripheral portion of the flywheel in addition to the phenomenon of an increase in water pressure building against said blade means as the same pass through a closely spaced chamber portion of the fluid outlet chamber containing water outlet orifices. The inertial movement of the flywheel gear is used to provide rotary motion for the outer brush housing through a reduction gear assembly intended to increase the rotational momentum of the outer brush housing in order to decrease tendencies for stoppage and slowing of brushing action with applied pressures against the outer housing during buffeting and scrubbing of the surfaces to be cleaned.